Incidence of aerobic bacteria and Candida albicans in post-operative wound infections

The aim of the study was to isolate aerobic bacteria and Candida albicans from post-operative wounds, establish the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of isolated bacterial agents and proffer ways and means for the prevention of post-operative wound infections.  A total of 350 swab specimens from post-operative wounds of consenting patients in Central Hospital, Benin City, were screened for the presence of aerobic pathogens and C. albicans using standard bacteriological methods. The samples were collected using sterile Evepon swab sticks and inoculated onto Blood Agar, MacConkey Agar and Sabouraud Dextrose Agar plates. The 348 specimens (96.4%) yielded pathogens in the following order:Staphylococcus aureus (35.0%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26.0%), Escherichia coli (13.0%), C. albicans (9.3%), Klebsiella aerogenes (7.4%), Proteus spp. (7.4%) and Streptococcus spp. (1.9%).  The highest infection was seen in the age group 51 years and above, followed by 41 - 50, 21 - 30 and 11 - 20, while 0 - 10 years gave the lowest incidence. A gradual decline in resistance to infection among patients in the age group 51 and above could be responsible for the high prevalence rate (100%) observed in this study.  The anti-microbial susceptibility test indicated that there were differences in the sensitivity and resistance patterns of the isolates.